Gotta admit, I’m not a lighting gearhead and hadn’t heard of the German company Ledlenser before they contacted me, asking if we’d like to test their LED lanterns and headlamps. I Googled the company and found very positive reviews from Europe. Ledlenser recently started distributing in the US and was looking for feedback from American outdoor media. Here’s their USA website. https://www.ledlenserusa.com/

I requested a couple general purpose lanterns and headlamps that could be used outdoors and around the house. The products aren’t listed as being waterproof so I didn’t plan to expose them to salt water, but they do have a 7 yr warranty that covers defects in materials and workmanship. I wasn’t under obligation to provide a public review; they just wanted to know if we thought they would be useful in Hawaii.

My first impression was “wow, this is waaaay better than the outdated stuff I’ve been using!”. The headlamps and lanterns they sent use rechargeable lithium ion batteries as most of their products do. The headlamps fit better and were more comfortable than any headlamps I’ve used in the past, and the materials used were really top notch. The two lanterns, the only two they currently make, were so small they looked like toys. But the form factor and ergonomics were so well designed we couldn’t stop playing with them.

We’ve been testing the headlamps and lanterns for 3 months now and often use more than one of them each day. This initial review will cover the compact ML6 lantern ($79.95) and sub-compact ML4 lantern ($49.95) which we end up using more often.

I’ll keep the techy stuff to a minimum but here’s what’s relevant. The larger ML6 lantern is 7 inches tall including rubber handle and weighs 10 oz. It has 3 brightness levels. The brightest, at 750 lumens can last for 4 hrs. The lowest, at 20 lumens can last for 70 hrs. The smaller ML4 lantern is less than 4 inches tall and weighs 2.5 oz. It has 3 brightness levels also: 300 lumens will last 2.5 hrs, 5 lumens will last 45 hrs.

We use the little ML4 as a night light in the bathroom, clipping the carabiner to a electrical cord. The lowest setting throws a muted, glare-free light and doesn’t affect our night vision.

I liked it so much I took it on my trip to LA and used it to light my very dark hotel room. We’ve also used it on its brightest setting to light our way around the yard in the dark. It’s truly amazing how much light that little lantern puts out.

The little lantern has a battery indicator that lets me know when it’s running low and I usually charge it after 4 night of use with a charger than magnetically snaps into place.

The bigger ML6 uses a mini USB charger and can charge another device with its standard USB port.

It’s so economical and environmentally healthy to recharge rather than keep buying alkaline batteries, and the small ML4 can also use a standard AA battery in a pinch.

We’ve used the ML6 to inspect the progress of an addition we’re building and to do yard maintenance in the dark. My wife likes to use it in the living room, to read by, pretending she’s camping in a large tent! It doesn’t get hot, and is shatter resistant because the body is plastic and the ends are rubber armored. The light thrown is a nice, even, soft aura.

We’ve hung it from its rubber loop, attached it to metal objects with its magnetic base, and just stood it up on surfaces.

Both lanterns have a long list of features that I’ll cover in a more in-depth review, but the purpose of this feature was to just introduce the company and its products. The lanterns aren’t cheap; do we think they’re worth the price so far? Well, we liked them so much that, with the moderate discount Ledlenser provided, a friend and I bought 6 more ML6s and 4 more ML4s for personal use and as gifts!